Let the festivities begin...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and the madness of Black Friday was survived, I'm ready.

Ready for the spirit of Christmas to enter our home and put a smile on all of our faces.

Ready to pull out some of the old traditions, like baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve...



in the buff...

(Photo from 2007)

Now, let the festivities begin!

Counting my blessings

One of my favorite church hymns is...

"Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your blessings, see what God has done."

On this day of Thanksgiving, as I scurry around preparing my home for eighteen guests, I have an amazing amount of blessings to thank God for.

Our home. A place where guests feel welcome. A place where my kids can feel at home, not afraid to make a mess when they're knee-deep in their imaginations (and Hot Wheels/Legos/Dinosaurs). We've lived here for nearly eight years now, and love it even more now than we did when we built it.


Nature hikes. Joe's sister, Jill, just moved back to Ohio from Vegas, and has since discovered a new nature preserve full of beautiful hiking trails. One thing that Joe and I love to do with the kids is hike and explore all that God has created. He came by that honestly, since his mom loves to hike, as well. Last weekend, Kay drove me and the kids out to meet Jill and her new husband at the trails, and we took tons of pictures of the kids and the views. This tunnel of trees was one of my favorites.


Since I was eleven years old, I could not wait to be a mom. (Made my parents very nervous, I tell you.) So, of course, my children are my most precious blessings...

Isabel. With her beautiful spirit, her kind heart, and her amazing attitude towards life, this daughter of mine makes me smile every day.


Gabriel. Our bonus baby, in so many ways. His stories bring joy to you, my blog readers; you can't even imagine how much laughter and joy he brings to our family. He could make a friend in a box, and I'm sure he's destined to be a politician of some sort (though he has his eyes set on a policeman or firefighter at the moment).

Elijah. My first-born. His intelligence astounds me, his athletic prowess is thrilling to watch (left-handed pitcher, remember?), and he is the best big brother to Gabe (and sometimes even Isabel).

Joe. This may seem an odd picture, but one of the things I love most about Joe is his handiness around the house, and his determination to do the work himself, whether he's ever done it before or not. His current project is our master bathroom. He has torn out the bathtub and toilet, completely revamped the design, and is in the process of tiling the floor and walls. Did I mention he's a math teacher to troubled kids and an incredible dad to boot?

Kay. Not many people have great relationships with their mother-in-law, but I am blessed beyond measure to have this woman in my life. She helps me with housework, loves my babies as much as I do, wants to spend time with me and my family, is a great euchre partner, and is the best example of a Christian woman that I know. She welcomed me into the family with open arms fourteen years ago, and her friendship is one of the greatest blessings in my life.

I'm also so thankful for my sisters, my mom, my nieces, my health, and my friends. Oh, and a job that I love where I can make good money to help support my family. Truly, my list is so long, I almost feel guilty about being blessed with so much. I hope God knows how much I appreciate every one of them, and that on this day, I am counting them all.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, and may you use this day to count your blessings...

We were "Girls on the Run"!

This past Saturday was the day.

The day we had been working toward for the past ten weeks. Two practices a week, a practice 5K, a community service project, and several coaches meetings later...November 21st marked the end of our Girls on the Run fall session.

(I thought I would be relieved. Instead, I'm a bit sad. And so is Isabel. We have truly bonded over this running thing, and I love it! This will NOT be our last race, but the first of many to come.)

Joe was our Team Photographer, and he did a fantastic job. The race was held on the banks of the Ohio River, at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati. The day dawned cool and cloudy, with a high predicted of 59 degrees. Perfect running weather!



There were hundreds of girls there with their friends, coaches and running buddies (each girl had someone to run with). Every one of our fifteen girls made it to the race, wearing their matching hats we had found at the Dollar Spot in Target (man, I love that store!).

There was a DJ, booths for getting your hair painted, temporary tattoos, and face painting. The atmosphere was electric with excitement!


There were six of us coaching the girls, and we all got along so well. I'm going to miss seeing them every week! (One of the coaches couldn't make it to the race...)

Lining up at the starting line, warmed up and ready to go!

And we're off! All along the banks of the river, the scenery was gorgeous and the path was fairly flat (perfect for a first race). Isabel and I run about the same pace, which amazes me since her legs are half the length of mine. That girl rocks!

As we ran the last quarter mile, we were met with cheers and encouraging words, whistles and cowbells and the screams of our supporters. It was such an amazing feeling, I had goosebumps on my arms and tears in my eyes.

We finished the 3.2 mile race in 29 minutes and 59 seconds. (Two minutes faster than my first race last March!). I could not believe how well Isabel did...the girl is only nine years old!

After cheering on the rest of our team, we posed for many a photo shoot. The four of us (Monica, Maya, Isabel and myself) have been friends since the girls were in first grade; Monica is such an inspiration, having run several marathons and teaching all kinds of classes at the Y (Muscle Max, Boot Camp, to name a few). Coaching together has been a great experience!

Elijah thought it looked like so much fun, he has decided to run with us at our next race. We're thinking about the Flying Pig in May (not the marathon, more like the 5K). He did a great job of supporting his little sis!

Another avid fan was Joe. Not only did he take all the pictures, but he was bursting with pride as he watched his daughter cross that finish line, finally finding a sport that she loves!

Some of the girls had to leave right after the race, but some hung out for a few more pictures...

and one final cheer: "Girls on the run is so much fun; Girls on the run is so much fun; Girls on the run is so much fun! Yeah!"

Great job, Isabel! We are so proud of you!

Randomicity

Maybe not a real word, but it'll do for this post...

* Saw New Moon this past Friday night, with friends, sisters, daughter and mother-in-law. We all loved it and were almost convinced to switch over to Team Jacob (Holy Abs, Batman!). After much consideration, Michelle and I have decided we are Team Charlie. He was awesome!

* Ran a 5K with Isabel on Saturday morning. She was the first to finish from our Girls on the Run team, with a time of 29:59 minutes. That beats my time from my first race by 2 minutes! (Photos to come in a later post.)

* Getting so excited for Thanksgiving this week! I love hosting Thanksgiving dinner; Gabe and I bought the turkeys and the dressing ingredients...the countdown to Turkey Day is on. We'll have a houseful of eighteen people, and I will love every minute. Truly, we have so much to be thankful for this year.

* Still wondering what to get my kids for Christmas this year. Isabel and Elijah are getting to the point where their wish list is expensive (xbox-360, iPod, touch-screen computer...hello!). sigh...gone are the days of Toys-R-Us being the only store I had to shop in for the kiddos.

* Getting ready for a 12-hour night shift tonight. Been out hiking all day today at a new park we found near Joe's sister's new house. One of our last gorgeous days before winter comes, according to the local weatherman, so we got out and enjoyed it. I didn't even feel guilty about skipping church, when we could take such pleasure in the beauty of God's creations...

* Still have one kitten to find a home for. Autumn is getting fixed on Tuesday...no more kitties for us!

That about sums up the random thoughts floating through my head right now. Gotta go get ready for work now. Here's to a great week for all of you!

I'm going...

with a group of girls ages 9 to 53.

There will be sighs. Maybe even tears. Most certainly squeals of delight that it's finally here.

Yep, we're off to see New Moon tonight. And I can't wait!

How much is that (kitty) in the window?

It's free, I tell you, free!

Yes, Autumn's kittens are ready to fly the coop, and so is Autumn. She had gotten used to being an outdoor cat, with plenty of freedom to run in the woods behind our house. For the past couple of months, she's been stuck inside the house, having to tend to her babies (we all know what that can do to a mother, don't we?).

I'm fairly certain that is not a look of contentment on her feline face, having the life sucked out of her by those five little furballs...



Now that they can eat "real food" (i.e. kitten chow), Autumn runs away from their teething mouths, only stopping to nurse when they catch her at the right moment.


A couple of the more persistent ones have even tried to nurse on Ellie...hysterical to watch!

Watching these little guys grow has been such a great experience for our family. But now the time has come to find them a new home. We have agreed to keep one of the kittens, Mamaw Kay is taking the two black ones that are always snuggled up together, and we are actively looking for homes for the other two. Any takers?

Look at those sweet little faces:

The striped one is Casper, Gabe's favorite.

These two are Mamaw's favorite. The black kittens are Shadow, Boo, Coffee and Choo-choo (named by Isabel and her friend). I think Mamaw may rename hers, and that's just fine.

I've got a great vet that I can recommend.

Aren't they adorable?

A sweet, furry little kitten would make a great Christmas present, you know!

I Survived EE '09!

And I can't wait to do it again next year!

Meeting women that I have blogged with for over a year was an amazing experience. Doing it in the mountains of Tennessee made it even better (that's what she said).

Because I'm just too lazy to link up to all their wonderful blogs, I'm going to give you their names and see how many you know. They're almost all on my sidebar...you can check them out from there.

(L to R, top row: Shannon, Melissa, Kat, Brandy, Denise, Lula and me.

Bottom row: Angie, Jane, Angela, Lizzy, Cara and Shelley)

We had been planning this trip for months; when I got the email from Shannon and Angie inviting me to be a part of Estrogen Extravaganza, I didn't hesitate. I had already met a few bloggers in real life (Catherine, Jennifer, and Lula). I knew it would be a great time. So when I loaded up my van and drove five hours to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, I wasn't even nervous. I chatted with a friend, listened to my Glee soundtrack, listened to a book on CD, and sometimes just enjoyed the silence as my van burned up the 317 miles to the cabin.

Once I got into the mountains, the Queen Navigator, also known as Angie, guided me turn-by-turn to the driveway of our chalet.

Immediately upon opening my van door, I was greeted by these girls that I had only ever blogged with. Hearing their different voices (and accents) was incredible, and we were all so excited to be together for the first time!

If you're wondering what on earth we did for the whole weekend, let me tell you...

We gathered around the dining room table, cracking up over YouTube videos...

We rehashed the scariest parts of the movie only four of us were brave enough to see (Paranormal Activity...Lula was dying to see it, so Cara, Brandy and I loaded into her car and ventured to Knoxville to be scared to death!)

We played 80's Scene It, watched Space Camp and Trublood, and laughed 'til we cried over the silliest things...

We learned some new things from the preacher's wife (and that's ALL I'm saying about that!)

It's amazing what you can demonstrate with a can of crescent dough. Okay, really, that's all I'm saying about it, I promise, Melissa.

While some of us braved the insanity of the Outlet malls, others enjoyed the scenery and went horseback riding. I got some great deals, they got sore behinds. Just sayin'...

We ate, a lot. Although not as much as we had planned, since we all took home lots of leftovers. We had Mexican night, we ate out at Olive Garden and Hard Rock and the Chop House, and of course no trip to the mountains is complete without breakfast at the Apple Barn (a bit disappointed in the food, though, I gotta say).

Here's Lizzy, modeling her mad baking talent...

Apple fritter, anyone? Yum!

We scared off a table full of grumpy ole folk with our laughter at the Apple Barn, which made us laugh even harder...

Overall, the weekend was a smashing success. The traffic was a bit much to deal with (we were so afraid Denise would miss her plane), but that just made the decision to stay through Monday next year that much easier, dontcha think, girls?

My favorite memory of the trip?

Watching Lula, Cara and Brandy at Paranormal Activity. I knew when the scary parts were going to happen, so when I sank low in my seat and covered my eyes, Lula knew it was time to hide behind her pillow.

Yes, I said pillow. She brought her pillow all the way from Pennington Gap to Knoxville, just to protect her at the movies...

(Look closely and you'll see Cara and Brandy hunkered down in the background).

To anyone who has yet to meet a fellow blogger in real life, let this post be an encouragement to you. Meeting people online can be scary, but for this bunch of mommy bloggers, it was a great experience!

Thank you so much, Shannon and Angie, for planning such an awesome weekend! You girls rock!

Digging my way out...

from under the suitcases, bags of clothes and other Christmas purchases, not to mention all the dishes in the sink (I think every single cup in this house was dirty).

I promise I will tell you all about my amazingly fun trip to Tennessee with these women:


As soon as I can find my camera cord. I'm sure it's here somewhere...

Estrogen Extravaganza!

After months of planning, it's finally here!

A big group of blogger friends are driving, flying, hitch-hiking their way to the mountains of Tennessee to have the weekend of all weekends...truly an Estrogen Extravaganza, named by Shannon and Angie.

Food, conversation, scary movies (Paranormal Activity on Friday the 13th, anyone?), more food, shopping, tattoo-getting, horseback riding, more shopping, hot tubs, more movies, scrapbooking, mixed in with finally meeting in-real-life these girls who I have blogged with for over a year.

I'm a bit excited, can't you tell?

I'm sure I'll have MANY blogworthy photos upon my return...can't wait to share them!

This baby...

I have followed his story since before he was born.

It captivated not only me, but bloggers around the world.

Even my kids recognize his face on my computer, and ask how Stellan is doing. All they know is that his heart is sick, and he needs our prayers.

What I know is this: this baby has touched my heart. His miraculous birth was amazing to read about. His mother's faith is something I strive to achieve in my ordinary life.

What I don't know is this: how do you face the daily possibility of losing your son, your baby, your sweet little boy?

I think this is why Stellan's situation weighs so heavily on my heart and mind. Reading Jennifer's blog every day, admiring her beautifully photographed children, praying for Stellan when he's sick and rejoicing when he is healthy...it brings the whole thing home to me, right through my laptop.

Please join me in praying for Stellan this week, but especially now through Tuesday, when he undergoes another attempt at an ablation to fix his heart arrhythmias. Pray for strength for his parents, wisdom and compassion for his physicians and nurses, and for a complete healing for this little guy's heart.

He may not be our son, but he is someone's beloved and cherished baby boy, and he has worked his way into so many hearts. Please let his be healed.

Broken feelings

(Photo from 2008)

Usually, Elijah and Gabe play really well together.

Today was an exception.

Gabe wanted to play hide and seek; Elijah wanted to jump on the trampoline. Unfortunately, Gabe's two little buddies wanted to play with Elijah. Gabe was crushed.

He came into the house, tears flowing, sobbing his little heart out on my shoulder.

After a snack and some mommy time, he calmed down.

Then he turned to me and said, in the saddest little voice, "My feelings are still hurt from 'Lijah. I think they're broke."

Awww, poor little guy. A few hugs, some pizza and a Scooby-doo show and now things are better.

Broken feelings have a way of mending, eventually. Such a tough lesson, though.

Eenie-meenie-minie-moe

It's been a long while since I have bought new pajamas for my myself.

The kids get new pj's every Christmas Eve, but I'm wearing the same mismatched duds that I have owned for over a decade. They're comfy, but...

Next Friday, I am going on a sleepover weekend with fourteen other women. I don't want to have mismatched duds; I want to have cute pajamas. Thus began my search.

The choices are endless.

(I know which one Joe would choose):


Warm, but disturbing:

Somehow I don't think this would look quite so cute on me:

Now that's more my style, but where's the flood?

As much as I would like to feel sexy and stylin' in my bedtime wear, I think this is more my speed:

What do you think? Have you bought new pj's for yourself lately? What do you wear to bed?

Candy overload

No, this post isn't about the ten pounds of candy the kids collected last Saturday night.

It isn't about how the cat keeps sneaking into said candy, sampling the Pixie Sticks and Tootsie Pops (I didn't even know cats had a sweet tooth).

It is about Gabe, and the freakin' adorable Candy League soccer team he is on over at our YMCA.

Have you ever watched six preschoolers play 3-on-3 soccer, running amuck in their little soccer shorts and shinguards, cheering crazily no matter which kid scores a goal?

If you haven't, you should. Nothing brings a smile to your face faster than this, I swear. The cuteness factor is a definite 10!



These boys didn't even know each other until last week; look at 'em now.


Gabe's team is the "Candy Canes". We battle the "Skittles", the "Kit Kats", and the "Junior Mints". Love it...